Portman: Romney could 'probably' win without Ohio

By MANU RAJU

10/14/2012 10:18 AM EDT

Sen. Rob Portman said on Sunday that Mitt Romney could still win the White House without carrying the senator's home state of Ohio, though he suggested that the Republican presidential nominee's path would be much narrower without the prized battleground.

"He can probably win the presidency without Ohio, but I wouldn’t want to take the risk," Portman said on ABC's "This Week." "No Republican has."

The Republican senator said the race is "dead even" in his state and the "momentum is on our side," saying the Romney team's ground game has been much more aggressive there than Republicans were in 2008.

"I’ve never seen this kind of enthusiasm or energy on the ground," Portman said. "It’s turning our way."